Jersey Shore Man Who Had 157 Cats At Home Indicted, Prosecutors Say

A Brick Township man was indicted after more than 150 cats were found in his home, authorities said.

Jeffrey Finlay, 56, of Brick Township, NJ, was indicted on 149 counts of animal cruelty.
Photo Credit: *Ocean County Jail (left), Ocean County Health Department (top and bottom right)*

08/29/2024 2:10 p.m.

A grand jury indicted 56-year-old Jeffrey Finlay on Wednesday, Aug. 28 for 149 counts of animal cruelty, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release.

Finlay called Brick police to help remove the animals from his house on Thursday, May 4, 2023. Officers found about 157 cats and three dogs at the Mantoloking Road home.

It took crews about 24 hours for the pets to be removed and brought to county animal facilities for treatment. Finlay was first charged with failure to provide care for a living animal or creature.

The Ocean County Health Department released the final veterinary reports on Monday, June 5, 2023. Veterinarians said 25 cats needed to be euthanized and four others suffered serious injuries because of Finlay's lack of care.

Finlay was charged with animal cruelty and a warrant was issued for his arrest on Sunday, June 11, 2023. Three days later, he surrendered at Brick police headquarters.

After his surrender, Finley was released from Ocean County Jail on bail.

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